Andrew Wiggins and Zach LaVine impressed during All-Star Weekend and will look to bring that energy to the second half of the Timberpups season. (Credit: NBAE/ Getty Images)

Setting the stage:

The NBA gets back to the grind Thursday and Friday night after an eventful All-Star Break that saw the young Pups take center stage. While the season has slogged along, aided by the significant injuries to key players, the Wolves were able to make some noise during the break and put a little bit of spotlight on the young, potential stars on the roster – Andrew Wiggins, as well as Zach LaVine, Gorgui Dieng, and Shabazz Muhammad.

The Timberwolves open up their post-Break with a home game against the Phoenix Suns on Friday night and then move into the following week with four more games. At 11-42 thus far on the season, fans are more interested to see what tweaks might be made to the roster (or future draft picks) as we close in on the NBA trade deadline. Timberwolves’ fans will then pivot their attention to ping pong balls as the New York Knicks and Philadelphia 76ers continue their tanking ways.

Here is a preview of the next five games:

Game 54: Friday, 2/20, 7pm – Phoenix Suns @ Timberpups (TV: FSN Plus)

The Suns enter the second half of the season as the 8 seed in the Western Conference but have the OKC Thunder right on their heels. To make matters worse, Goran Dragic has told the club he won’t be resigning with them this summer. The team is reportedly looking to move Dragic before the trade deadline so that they don’t lose him for nothing. It could be an interesting dynamic to watch on Friday night.

The Wolves lost twice to Phoenix in mid-January, one on each team’s court. However, the game in Minnesota was a nailbiter, with the Suns pulling out a 113-111 victory. The teams combined to score 75 points in the final quarter, with the Suns outdueling the Wolves 42-33 to take the victory.

Opponent to watch:

Eric Bledsoe – Pick a Guard of your choosing as the Suns have a plethora of talent in the backcourt.

It’s Flip Saunders vs. Kevin McHale night in Houston! There hasn’t been this many past and present Timberwolves coaches on the same court since … Friday, December 5th when the Wolves lost to the Rockets in overtime.

Opponent to watch:

James Harden – Harden put in 38 points in that OT victory against the Wolves and Wiggins will have his hands full trying to guard one of the very best offensive players in the NBA.

Wait a minute, we’re getting McHale and then Randy Wittman two nights later? Did Flip make the schedule himself? If it weren’t for the incredible season the Atlanta Hawks are having, the Wizards would be in serious contention for the #1 seed in the Eastern Conference … with Wittman as their Head Coach.

Opponent to watch:

John Wall – 17+ points and 10+ assists per game and you still don’t hear THAT much about Wall. He’s going to give Ricky Rubio fits.

The Bulls defeated the Pups on 11/1 earlier this season, 106-105. Kevin Martin had 33 points and Rubio had 17 assists but the Bulls came through at the end hitting clutch free throws to put the game away.

Opponent to watch:

Jimmy Butler – Butler was the player who hit those two free throws at the end of the game. Jimmy is also likely target 1A, 1B, or 1C on most Wolves’ fans free agency lists this coming offseason.

The Timberpups lost the season opener in Memphis but defeated the Grizzlies shortly before the All-Star Break. You may remember this game as the one where Rubio willed his team to victory, returning to the court after rolling his ankle and causing hearts to skip a few beats.

Opponent to watch:

Zach Randolph – Randolph was a no-show in the Wolves’ victory against the Grizzlies in their last meeting. It will be interesting to see if his teammates force-feed him the ball to get him involved early and often.

Wrap-up:

The scheduling gods do the Wolves no favors again to start the second half of the season. Tough opponents and the team continues to travel back and forth from Minnesota after each game.

Here is to staying healthy and not doing anything dumb at the trade deadline! Let’s go Wolves!

In the first of two road games for Minnesota, the Timberwolves gave a valiant effort against the Wizards. In a game that stayed close in score for a majority of the contest, it was foul shooting that most hurt Minnesota, and Washington pulled away with the 109-95 final score. Thaddeus Young led the team with a season-high 29 points, followed by Shabazz Muhammad who added 21 off the bench. On the opposing side, Rasual Butler tallied 23 points, 18 of them occurring in the fourth quarter.

The Wizards shot off to an impressive start early on, going on a 14-2 run in the first four minutes of the opening quarter. The Wolves slowly worked to battle back. Rookie Zach LaVine added a spark with a nice three-point bucket by rookie at the 4:55 mark, but Washington continued to make its shots and keep a lead over the Wolves. Minnesota entered the locker room at halftime down by 10, shooting 33.3 percent from the floor. The team controlled the ball well and committed only four turnovers in the first half.

Where most teams would make up that point deficit, at the free-throw line, the Wolves played terribly. Throughout the first two quarters, Minnesota went just 4-of-14 from the charity stripe. At the end of the game, less than 60 percent of the team’s free throws were successful.

On the opposing side, Washington 50 percent from the field and 72.2 percent from the free-throw line.

“They’re just too good for us right now,” coach Flip Saunders said postgame. “We just don’t have enough firepower.”

Seven Washington players scored in double-digit points, including fourth-year guard John Wall. Wall recorded a double-double on the evening when he scored 21 points and dished out 17 assists. Wall earned Eastern Conference Player of the Week honors.

“I think [John] still has the best ahead of him,” coach Randy Wittman said. “He deserved to win Player of the Week. I told him, `That’s no big deal, you deserve it.’ There’s nothing surprising here, let’s just keep doing it.”

The Wizards improved their record 18-6, demonstrating why they are currently ranked No. 2 in the Eastern Conference.

Minnesota fell to 5-19, losing nine of its last 10 games. The team continues to struggle with three of its starters (Ricky Rubio, Nikola Pekovic and Kevin Martin) being sidelined indefinitely. Young players are learning on the fly, and the squad is scrappy at the very least. However, the Wolves know they need to start finding a way to win, and soon.

Next up is the Boston Celtics on Friday evening. Tipoff is set for 6:30 p.m. (CST) at the TD Garden arena.

When will any of these guys return to the Timberwolves lineup? (Credit: NBAE via Getty Images)

Setting the stage:

The Minnesota Timberwolves head into week eight with a 5-17 record before Sunday night’s game against the Los Angeles Lakers at the Target Center. After Sunday’s game the Wolves will head east for two games before returning home to wrap up the week. The injuries continue to plague the team/roster with little help in sight. While this should help in the long run, it is frustrating and sometimes painful to watch right now. The minutes that Flip Saunders is giving to Zach LaVine will help judge where he fits best with this club – which position, role, etc. Andrew Wiggins and Gorgui Dieng are getting heavy minutes and the learning curve would seem to be quickening because of it.

The week ahead has several very winnable games for our Pups. Here is a brief preview for each:

The Wizards may be the surprise team in the league right now with a 16-6 record, with a home game on Sunday against the Utah Jazz. A win on Sunday would be their fourth in a row. Washington is .5 games ahead of the Atlanta Hawks to lead the Southeast division.

Opponent to watch:

John Wall – Wall is having a career year averaging 17.8ppg, 10.5apg, and over 2 steals a game. This is likely going to be a very rough matchup for Zach LaVine in trying to contain Wall and even if Flip rotates a bit, that would put the Wolves’ rookie on Bradley Beal – who is coming off of a big performance this past week against the Lakers.

The Celtics enter the week with a 7-14 record and will face the Sixers and Magic on Monday and Wednesday night respectively ahead of Friday night’s matchup in Beantown. The Celtics are coming off of an embarrassing loss against the Knicks and will look to recover against two other sub-par Eastern Conference teams ahead of the Wolves.

Opponent to watch:

Jeff Green – While underwhelming on the court to many, I have always liked Green and thought he would have been a good fit on the Wolves’ roster. Green is averaging over 20ppg this season and has a PER of 16.6. He isn’t rebounding at a high level but is the clear #1 option on offense for the Celtics. Mr. Wiggins will have another opportunity to guard the top scoring option of the opposition.

The coldest team in the league is the Indiana Pacers, having lost eight games in a row. They will be in Denver for a game on Saturday night and will have to fly to Minnesota for Sunday’s matchup at Target Center. Sunday’s game could be a nice return home for the Wolves who have the ability to pull off the victory against a struggling team.

Opponent to watch:

Roy Hibbert – The Pacers are somewhat faceless this year due to injuries. Hibbert has been up and down but will be a tough test for Gorgui Dieng. Hibbert is only averaging 11.6ppg and 7.3rpg but should be able to turn it on at any point. At least one would think that.

Wrap-up:

The Timberwolves could easily win at least two games this week with several struggling opponents from the Eastern Conference. How many wins do you foresee for the team this week? Go Pups!

The Timberwolves traveled to Washington on Tuesday night for a matchup with a healthy Wizards squad. Minnesota witnessed first hand the Wizards’ impressively refined offense and saw glimpses of greatness from both Bradley Beal and John Wall. Beal led Washington with 25 points (9-21 FG) and Wall himself tallied 14 points (5-17 FG) to go with a game-high 16 assists and 5 rebounds as the Wizards defeated the Wolves 104-100.

The first quarter was very evenly played by the two teams. Washington focused on running their offense through the post, cycling Nene to the high post where he hit a few jump shots right off the bat. On the opposite end of the floor, Kevin Love had himself quite a first quarter. Coming into tonight’s game, Love ranked third in the NBA in first quarter scoring with just under 9 points. He nearly doubled his first quarter points average as he finished the period with 16 points on 5-6 shooting.

Into the second quarter, Minnesota’s bench (which has been particularly problematic this year) helped to extend the Wolves lead putting it at 53-37 with nearly 6 minutes left in the first half. The Wolves were able to maintain around a 10-point margin until the 2:30 mark, when a Nene layup brought the game back to single digits. However, the Wolves came right back and headed to the locker rooms with a 63-51 lead.

The second half consisted of absolutely spectacular play from the young Beal. The former number-3 overall selection put on a shooting clinic beginning with around 8:00 in the quarter when back-to-back three-pointers by the former Gator brought Washington to within one point of the Wolves. Behind more hot shooting from the Eric Gordon clone, Washington knotted things up at 81 heading into the final quarter.

The Wolves missed countless opportunities in the fourth quarter and ultimately fell 104-100, despite a strong bench performance from rookie Robbie Hummel. Hummel, who fought for and won a roster spot back in training camp, looked very sharp as he tallied 7 points (2-2 3pt) and 6 rebounds without turning the ball over once in 22 minutes. K-Love really cooled down in the second half and ultimately posted a casual 25 point (8-17 FG) and 11 rebound line while Ricky Rubio was largely ineffective throughout much of the game, finishing with only 10 points and 2 assists. Martell Webster deserves a lot of credit as he hit the go-ahead three-pointer which effectively won the game for the Wizards.

Three Stars of the Game

Bradley Beal: The 20-year-old shooting guard showed us why he was taken with such a high pick as he shot lights out despite facing fairly decent close outs by Timberwolves defenders. The backcourt of Wall and Beal should be fun to watch for many years to come.

John Wall: With a game-high 16 assists, Wall is proving that he knows how to play the point guard position extremely well and knows when to act as facilitator and when to attack the rim. And while he may need some work done to his jump shot, he is currently a much more developed all around player than La Pistola.

Kevin Love: It has become customary to see Love put up ridiculous numbers in games that aren’t necessarily considered great games for the big fella. Love did a lot with little support from his teammates tonight and provided sparks when the team needed them. Unfortunately, it just wasn’t Minnesota’s night.

Key Takeaways

Marcin Gortat was a nice offseason pickup for Washington. He adds a defensive presence to Washington’s frontcourt to help compensate for the rebounding deficient Nene.

What’s up with Nikola Pekovic? He seems to disappear for long periods of time during games so far this season and I am seriously wondering if it has something to do with Bill Bayno being gone as an assistant coach. Pek and Bayno clearly had a solid connection and it is a real bummer they were unable to retain him. One thing is clear: Pek needs to regain his confidence if the Wolves are to seriously compete later on this season.

It was a very nice game for the former Pup Webster, who shot 5-10 from beyond the arc on his way to 17 points and 9 rebounds. Webster, who is finally healthy, enjoyed a breakout season for Washington last season shooting over 40% from three.

Was it just me, or was Jan Vesely pretty impressive out there tonight? The former 6th overall pick just a few seasons ago who has largely been considered a bust shot 4-4 from the floor while grabbing 6 rebounds and even being the beneficiary of a couple of sweet alley-oops in transition.

Off night for Rubio. Wall played solid defense and did a good job at not allowing Ricky much penetration, effectively containing him.

Last week we previewed the (stacked) Western Conference and now it is time to tackle the East. The Miami Heat look to make it not one, not two, but three conference championships in a row. Can they do it? Who can rise to the occasion? Who is at the bottom of the barrel? Let’s start there …

15. Philadelphia 76ers: I find it glorious that for David Stern’s final season, there is a team with enough charisma to say, “Here we are … tanking in all its glory” from the day the draft took place all the way through the trading deadline. Where will Evan Turner and Thaddeus Young wind up? I’m not sure they care, as long as it is out of Philly. While I like what Philly did on draft night acquiring Noel and MCW, there is no hope for this team in 2013/14. Zero. Zilch.

14. Orlando Magic: Victor Oladipo is very likely going to be a very good NBA player, but this team lacks talent across its frontcourt. If they can find a taker for Jameer Nelson during the season, they might give the Sixers a run for their money on ping pong balls.

13. Cleveland Cavaliers: Dan Gilbert wants this team in the playoffs, yet continues to do the strangest things on draft night. I love Kyrie Irving, I just wish he played almost anywhere else in the league. Cavs fans have to hope that Michael Bennett doesn’t eat himself out of the league (not a ringing endorsement for the #1 pick of the draft) and rely on getting something from Andrew Bynum and/or Anderson Varejao. This isn’t going to end well.

12. Boston Celtics: The Celtics are rebuilding but I can’t put them any lower than this, given what you just read. In fact, I actually wanted to put them a little bit higher, but figure this seems about right if Danny Ainge wakes up one day and says, “You know what, we are too good to get enough ping pong balls, Rondo needs to go”. Rajon Rondo and the supporting cast (Jeff Green, Courtney Lee) are good enough to stay ahead of the prior three teams.

11. Charlotte Bobcats: On paper, this is a pretty intriguing team that you might want to keep an eye on, but then you remember it is the Bobcats. They have a serviceable rotation of guards, signed Big Al Jefferson, and I love MKG. Then I remember that they are the Bobcats and just drafted Cody Zeller at #4 ahead of a handful of others that would have been a nice fit. Would the real Bismack Biyombo please stand up this season?

10. Detroit Pistons: This is going to be fun, right? Right?! Chauncey Billups returning to Detroit and trying to lead the Pistons with Brandon Jennings, Josh Smith, and Andre Drummond. At what point does Billups flat out retire? It would be great if he just walked out of the locker room at halftime to never come back. This is where we start thinking about teams that could sneak their way into the Eastern Conference playoffs … with 35 wins.

9. Toronto Raptors: Another team that is intriguing on paper and then you give yourself a reality check on second glance. Do you want Kyle Lowry as your starting PG? Is DeMar DeRozan ever going to turn it on? How much of a leap is Jonas Valanciunas really going to make in one year? Is Rudy Gay just going to shoot 33% from the field this year on 1,500 shots? Sorry, no playoffs for this franchise.

PLAYOFF TEAMS

8. Washington Wizards: Relying on the health of an already injured Emeka Okafor may not be the wisest strategy, but there is too much talent here to not make the playoffs in the East. John Wall, Bradley Beal, Otto Porter Jr. (another great pick from the Wizards front office?), and enough able bodies for big men. If you go to their second unit, you have some defensive studs as well with Singleton and Ariza on the wing. This could be a team to keep an eye on and is already on my League Pass watch-list.

7. Milwaukee Bucks: Every year I get sucked in and every year there is disappointment. Where OJ Mayo goes, so does some bizarre allegiance to overrate the team he’s playing on. That bus landed in Milwaukee this year. I like their big men as a group, but not any particular individual. You have ex-Wolf Luke Ridnour and Brandon Knight as the PG’s and Gary Neal as the fourth wheel in the backcourt. It will be interesting to see what they get out of the SF position where the Bucks have two wily veterans in Caron Butler and Carlos Delfino. This roster is good enough to make the playoffs. (Until it isn’t)

6. New York Knicks: Look at how the NY Giants football season is going and that is what I would like to predict for the Knicks. However, they have too much talent for the Eastern Conference to go any lower than this. They will play .500 ball and get into the playoffs with ease. Here’s what I like about the team: Tyson Chandler, from a few years ago. That’s it. There is nothing on this roster that I like. Despite his gaudy numbers, there is virtually nothing Carmelo can do to not make me believe that he is an underachiever; outside of taking less than max money in his next contract and deferring to another star in order to win a championship.

5. Atlanta Hawks: This is my Eastern Conference “I have no idea where to put this team, so they are going here”. I cannot give a team home court advantage in round 1 of the playoffs if that is my general feeling towards the team, so they land at #5. Love the Paul Millsap and Al Horford combination, like Jeff Teague, but have no idea what to think of their rotation of wings. The Hawks’ wings really just need to fill roles though, right? That should be good enough for a .500+ record and another trip to the postseason, only to be quickly disposed by the …

4. Chicago Bulls: We’ll get to this when we go through the playoff brackets later, but I see the Bulls coasting through the regular season, monitoring Derrick Rose’s minutes, resting him occasionally, etc. This team is tough as nails and will do what is necessary to get to right around the 50 win mark. It won’t be pretty, we won’t enjoy it when they beat up the Wolves in the paint, but this team will get it done.

3. Brooklyn Nets: Prokhorov’s tax bill is “a bit” much, but you have to love an owner that is willing to spend any and all money possible to put together a championship contender. Unfortunately for the Nets, there are too many stronger teams that will grind this team out of the playoffs at some point. Deron Williams has a lot to prove and I see this team putting together a very strong regular season due to all of the veterans in the locker room.

Best of luck to KG in Brooklyn and a big “kudos” for the Big Ticket in wearing the #2 jersey with the Nets – in memory of Malik Sealy. I might have to drag myself to the Barclay’s Center to see KG one last time in person.

2. Indiana Pacers: The country finally got to see who Paul George was and what this Pacers roster is all about in last year’s playoffs. I don’t expect them to digress whatsoever. In fact, if Danny Granger can stay healthy and Luis Scola provides quality backup minutes at the PF/C spots, this team is very, very dangerous. Quite honestly, I love this team.

(You didn’t think I would talk about the Pacers and not mention David Kahn’s selection of Wesley Johnson over Paul George, did you? The worst lottery pick the franchise has ever made. The worst … and the bar is pretty ‘high’ for that proclamation. THE WORST! Let’s move on before my blood pressure pills start wearing off …)

1. Miami Heat: The Heat won something like 75 games in a row (it was 27) last season and the NBA Championship. You know the story and the cast of characters. Until someone knocks them off the pedestal, it is hard to place them anywhere else.

Which brings us to the playoffs, based on the seeds above. Here is how I see the Eastern Conference Playoffs unfolding:

The top four teams in the East are light-years ahead of the rest of the conference, so they should all advance pretty easily out of the first round – unless you like the Knicks. Then things get very interesting. As mentioned above, I think the Bulls take it “easy” in the regular season a bit but knock out the defending champs, which sets up a close to epic battle against the Pacers. I simply believe it is the Pacers time.

The early exit for the Heat leads to about 15 million stories and rumors about LeBron heading back to Cleveland, to the Lakers, etc. etc. That’s going to be a lot of fun!

What do you think? Is it too early to dethrone the Heat? Do they have another trophy coming? What are your surprise or disappointment teams in the conference? Let us know below!

On Wednesday night, the Minnesota Timberwolves faced off at home against the Washington Wizards in a battle of two lottery-bound teams. The Wizards and Timberwolves entered the game with 19 and 20 wins, respectively, despite beginning the season with aspirations for a postseason berth. Washington was without rising rookie Bradley Beal, who injured his ankle after a nasty fall in Washington’s recent win over the 76ers. Beal narrowly escaped with only a sprained ankle, and will likely be out for up to another week.

Unsurprisingly, Minnesota was also without two of their starters in Andrei Kirilenko and Nikola Pekovic as both have been ravaged by a myriad of small injuries since the All-Star break. Mickael Gelabale and Greg Stiemsma started in their places in what was sure to be a snoozefest for the devoted fans who continue to occupy the graveyard atmosphere that the Target Center has once again become.

The matchup of Ricky Rubio and John Wall was sure to be a captivating one at that, with the first overall pick of the 2009 draft versus the fifth overall pick from the same draft. With both players standing at 6-foot-4, the game featured a matchup of two of the tallest point guards in the NBA despite having very skill sets. Wall, not known for his shooting, started off the game by knocking down several mid-range jumpers that are considered one of his weaknesses. Rubio started the game sagging off Wall by a step or two in order to take away his elite ability to get to the rim, and the former Kentucky standout responded by showing off an uncharacteristic soft touch from 16-18 feet. With the Wizards leading 29-24 after the first quarter, Wall had hit all 4 of his field goal attempts. Rubio held his own as he recorded 6 points, 4 assists and 4 rebounds in the opening period.

The Wolves did a much better job on the defensive end in the second quarter as the tandem of Dante Cunningham and Chris Johnson provided strong interior defense. Johnson, who has received sporadic minutes since Rick Adelman returned from missed time, was pure energy and hustle during his minutes in the first half. The long and skinny Johnson pushed the tempo beating the defense down the court and converted all three of his field goal attempts. Although Johnson is mainly receiving minutes due to the absence of Pekovic from the lineup, he continues to produce in the minutes he receives and is consistently the first Pup down the court on offense and the first player back on defense.

Leading 48-43 after the first half behind 51% shooting. The two teams sparred in the third quarter as neither club was able to get hot shooting the ball or creating opportunities in the half-court offense. The Wolves headed into the final quarter of play with a 65-63 lead.

One of the highlights of the fourth quarter came from Luke Ridnour in an uncharacteristic display of frustration with the officiating as he chucked the ball down the court following a no-call on a drive. Washington shot ahead to a 73-65 lead and it began to appear as if the Wolves were headed towards another fourth-quarter collapse. However, our Catalan leader put together another near quadruple-double and JJ Barea knocked down some key looks and the Wolves ended their losing streak, winning 87-82.

Notable Performances:

Martell Webster, after being cut by Minnesota before the season, entered the game with the second-best three-point shooting percentage in the NBA. Ironically, the Wolves are currently the worst three-point shooting team in the league. Starting for the Wizards at Small Forward, Webster logged 41 minutes of playing time despite only knocking down 2 of his 8 long-range attempts.

Derrick Williams put up a respectable line of 16 points and 8 rebounds, but shot just 4-12 from the field and struggled mightily after a strong first quarter.

Trevor Ariza continued his strong play of late as he recorded 16 points (4-10 FG, 3-7 3PT), 7 rebounds and 6 assists in 38 minutes. Ariza was acquired by the Wizards along with Emeka Okafor last summer in hopes of boosting Washington into playoff contention.

Keys of the Game:

Turnovers – Washington shot themselves in the foot time and time again and they committed 24 turnovers to only 14 by Minnesota.

Personal Fouls – As if the game was not made sloppy enough by all of Washington’s turnovers, they committed an absurd 29 personal fouls and essentially handed Minnesota the game in the final period of play.

Three Stars of the Game:

Ricky Rubio – This selection is a no-brainer. For the second time since the All-Star break, Ricky legitimately flirted with the mystic quadruple-double as he finished the night with 15 points (4-15 FG), 11 assists, 7 rebounds and 6 steals in 38 minutes. Although he had another tough game shooting the ball, Tricky Ricky provided for the Wolves in so many different ways on both ends of the floor and willed the team to victory.

John Wall – Wall showed a lot of improvement in his game especially in his ability to knock down the mid-range jumper. As tremendous of a player as Wall is, there still remains many areas in which he will need to master if he is to become the superstar that he was predicted to be when he was selected with the first pick. Wall finished the night with 19 points (7-15 FG), 7 assists, 3 steals and 6 turnovers in 39 minutes.

JJ Barea – JJ came up big in the fourth quarter and was one of the only Wolves who could make a shot in the second half. He held his own on defense despite having enormous size disadvantages in his matchups and was able to provide 12 points in 23 minutes off of the bench.

The 17-22 Timberwolves travelled east to take on the 9-31 Washington Wizards on Friday night. Hope everyone set their DVR’s. The Pups opened up with Rubio, Ridnour, Kirilenko, Williams, and Stiemsma. The Wizards countered with John Wall, Bradley Beal, Martell Webster, Nene Hilario, and Emeka Okafor. Wall was making his first start of the season in his eighth game of the year, as if the Wolves have not been pummeled enough by opposing PG’s.

The early minutes of the game was played at warp speed. However, it was also terribly sloppy. Going into the first timeout, the Wizards held a 17-9 lead. Washington was 7-9 from the field but had three turnovers. The Wolves were only 4-12 from the field and matched the Wizards three turnovers.

Despite struggling mightily from the field for much of the quarter and falling down by as many as eleven, the Wolves closed the quarter on a 9-2 run. Jordan Crawford hit a floater at the buzzer to give the Wizards a 29-25 lead at the end of the 1st quarter. Going back to Wednesday night’s game, it would be nice to see the Wolves execute in the closing seconds of any quarter.

The second quarter was full of mini-runs by both teams and the Pups drew the short straw when all was said and done. After building their lead to nine, the Wizards allowed the Wolves to cut it back to a two possession game. Then, both teams set NBA basketball back about thirty years with some awful play in the middle of the quarter. As soon as that train of thought started popping into my mind, the Wizards went on a nice run to close out the quarter.

After one half of basketball, the Wolves trailed by 14 points, 60-46. When would you like me to mention how the Wolves performed to close out the quarter? Right here (it was awful) or through my Wolves lens and halftime thoughts …

At halftime, it had been at least six quarters since the Pups closed out a quarter well

The only reason the Wolves weren’t losing by 20 or more points is because of how well they were rebounding the ball on the offensive end, holding a 13-3 advantage over the Wolves

The coaching staff needs to rein Dante Cunningham’s jumper in a bit – 16 feet and in until he gets things going again (1-6 from the field in the first half)

FG and FT shooting are killing the Pups right now. But other than that …

In the interest of not looking like a maniac, let’s agree that the second half was atrocious and just move on, fair? The Wolves didn’t do anything right in the half, with Terry Porter leading the charge and just about every member of the roster following suit. Derrick Williams finished the game with a double-double (18 & 11) but it felt completely irrelevant. Luke Ridnour had a nice game shooting but he probably gave up double that on the other end of the court. The Pups ten day contractors continued to put up positive results, but I’m not sure if this is actually a good thing or bad thing at this point.

Outside of rebounding the ball on both ends, the Wolves did virtually nothing well on Friday night. The Wolves shot 44% from the field, while their defense, or lack thereof, aided in the Wizards shooting a lights out 58%. As an added bonus, the Wolves missed thirteen (?!) free throws Friday night, going 20-33 from the “charity” line.

To complete the trifecta, the Wolves were 3-14 from 3PT range again tonight and there might be a need to ban three point shooting tomorrow night in Charlotte. I wish I were joking, but if I were coaching this team I would consider fining anyone that shoots a three pointer tomorrow night. The team really needs to focus on an inside out game even if their post players don’t fit the bill.

The Wizards go to ten wins on the season, beating the Pups 114-101 and it didn’t really feel like that close of a game at all in the second half. The loss is the Wolves third in a row and eighth in their last nine. Thankfully, Big Al is covering Saturday night’s game in Charlotte …

Keys of the Game

FT Shooting – I’m not sure I’ve done a recap where this hasn’t been a problem for the Wolves. The cynic in me would point out that if the Wolves were perfect from the line, the game would have been tied and gone into OT. I’m not that ridiculous though.

Energy – This might sound a little ridiculous, but the difference in energy levels and body language was very telling. This Wolves team is obviously struggling and it is starting to show all over the place.

Three Stars of the Game

Bradley Beal – 16 points and a game high+24 in the box score, but more impressive was the 4 blocked shots, including one on a Wolves fast break that was probably the play of the game

John Wall – Wall only played 20 minutes but he broke down defenders consistently and hit what became open jumpers. Breaking: John Wall is good.

Chris Johnson – Struggling to find a third star, so I want to give kudos to Chris Johnson, who put up 9 & 5 in a little over 20 minutes. What I want to commend him for is banging in the paint and being some type of “presence” for the team. Doogie sent out the note below that should be of interest to Pups fans …

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